By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. judge dismissed a lawsuit by dozens of Israelis who accused the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees of funneling more than $1 billion that aided Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) had “absolute immunity” from the lawsuit because it is a subsidiary of the United Nations, which has immunity from such lawsuits.
In her decision made public on Wednesday, Torres also rejected an argument that UNRWA was merely a “specialized agency” not entitled to immunity.
She cited U.N. lawyers who said subsidiaries such as UNRWA that have considerable autonomy are not “completely independent” because their parent entities can change their structures or close them.
Gavriel Mairone, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said on Friday his clients plan to appeal.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini and several current and former agency officials were also defendants. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hamas’ attack on Israel killed about 1,200 people.
The plaintiffs included more than 100 people who survived the attack or had relatives who were killed.
They accused UNRWA of spending more than a decade helping Hamas build “terror infrastructure,” including by funneling the $1 billion from a Manhattan bank account.
Several countries including the U.S. halted UNRWA funding after Israel alleged that staff members were involved in the attack.
The Biden administration said last October the lawsuit should be dismissed because UNRWA deserved immunity.
On April 24, the Trump administration reversed that position, and said the defendants “must answer these allegations in American courts.”
Both administrations said Hamas committed “atrocious” crimes.
Established in 1949, UNRWA provides schooling, healthcare and humanitarian aid in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It is funded almost entirely by U.N. member states.
The case is Estate of Kedem et al v United Nations Relief and Works Agency et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-04765.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
